Childhood Memories
by KimuraSato
Summary: Vlad feels out of place until he makes a new friend. Short tales about Vlad and Jack.
1. Chapter 1

**Childhood Memories**

**Characters:** Vlad and Jack

**Note: **Vlad and Jack are around nine.

**Disclaimer:** Danny Phantom is a product of Nickelodeon. All characters in this story are imaginary.

**Summary: **Vlad feels out of place until he makes a new friend.

**Originally Written: **April 2013-?

**The Haunted Castle**

He grew up not having very many friends. No, he needed to correct that statement. He grew up having no friends. The other children around his age didn't like him. He was the weirdo that the other children liked to tease. He wasn't interested in sports like the other boys, not playing them anyway. He loved football. The Green Bay Packers were his favorite team. But he wasn't much of an athlete, and the other boys never let him forget it.

He liked books, a reason for which the other children liked to call him nerdy. And perhaps his glasses didn't exactly help break him away from the nerdy image. He hugged his latest book from the library to his chest as he quickly made his way home, taking the long way around to avoid the bullies of his neighborhood from spotting him and deciding to play a game of picking on him. Yet again.

His head was bowed, watching the little stone that he kept kicking down the sidewalk. When he ran into something larger than he, he stumbled back, tripping over his feet and falling to the ground. His book fell from his arms, thumping as it landed on the sidewalk, and his glasses fell partly askew.

"You okay?" With hands on his knees, the other boy bent over to stare down at him. He had short raven hair that was swept to one side, his bangs barely reaching to his blue eyes.

"Fine," he grumbled as he snatched up his book. He kept his gaze away from the other boy as he stood, fixing his glasses. Reaching up a hand, he smoothed down his dark grayish hair, some of which slipped free of his ponytail. He didn't want anything to do with this other boy who looked exactly like the other bullies of the neighborhood with his large body giving him the look of a football player.

"I'm Jack." He had a wide grin on his face with a gap in front where he recently lost a tooth.

The name rolled around in his head, but he couldn't remember a boy in the neighborhood named Jack. He eyed the other boy curiously. "Vlad." Right after offering his name, he walked past the other boy. His dark blue eyes flicked to his side when he noticed Jack fell into step next to him.

"Vlad," Jack repeated like he was trying out the name. "What's fun to do here?" He shoved his hands into his pockets. "I just got here this afternoon, and I'm bored out of my mind while my parents chat with my aunt and uncle." He rolled his eyes with a face that showed how dull he thought adults were.

Vlad shrugged, feeling weird about having the other boy speaking so friendly toward him. He was tense, waiting for Jack to start teasing him for one reason or another. "You could probably ask the other boys."

"They didn't seem all that - Hey! What's that?" Jack halted, staring in astonishment at something on the other side of the boy.

Vlad turned his head to see what caught Jack's attention. "Oh, you mean the Dairy King's castle?" A wistful look passed through his eyes when he saw the tall castle with turrets reaching for the sky. "I'm gonna live there one day." He nodded his head firmly, and he didn't care if Jack laughed at him for the declaration. He decided it long ago when his mother first walked him past the castle, telling him stories about how they were distantly related to the current Dairy King. He was determined to make that dream come true one day.

"What's so special about the Dairy King?" Jack's brow wrinkled in obvious confusion, and if he really only just moved there, he wouldn't know anything about the Dairy King.

"Maybe nothing to you," Vlad muttered, looking away with his nose upturned in the air. "But it means something to me. Besides, I read once that the place was haunted. I always wanted to go in and see if I could find the ghost."

"Really?" Jack asked in excitement that surprised the other boy. "That sounds awesome! Let's sneak in!"

"You can't just-" Vlad started as he turned back to Jack only to find the other boy gone. With a jerk, he turned around to see Jack already trying to climb the wrought iron gate in front of the castle. "You're going to get in trouble!" Vlad abandoned his book, letting it fall to the ground, as he rushed to grab hold of the back of Jack's shirt before he could try to climb over the top of the gate.

"Uh oh," Jack mumbled, giving no more warning when his hold on the gate suddenly slipped. He fell to the ground, knocking Vlad over in the process.

Vlad grunted, the wind forced out of him when Jack's larger body landed on top of him. "What were you thinking?" he questioned in a wheeze.

"But I really wanted to see the ghost," Jack said, pouting as he climbed off Vlad. "I keep trying to find them, but they never want to show up for me." He stuck out a hand to help the other boy to his feet.

Vlad blinked in surprise at the hand before he accepted it, getting easily dragged to his feet by Jack. "You," his mind spun at Jack's statement, "like ghosts?"

"They're only the most fascinating thing ever!" Jack shouted excitedly. "If only I could meet one!"

"I thought I was the only one," Vlad mumbled, stunned. The rest of the children in the neighborhood thought he was some sort of freak for having such interest in ghosts and paranormal activities. He couldn't help that he found the subject completely fascinating, easily getting absorbed by stories about ghosts. A smile pulled at his mouth. For the first time, he thought maybe he could make a real friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Ghost Mother**

He didn't expect Jack to become such a major part of his life in such a short amount of time. It still felt like only yesterday that they bumped into each other, walking past the Diary King's castle. Vlad wasn't very good at making friends, and he thought that Jack would meet with him from time to time after they found out about their shared interest in ghosts. It surprised him when Jack ended up coming over almost every day, bright and early and staying late into the night. Jack didn't tease him about living in a fairly rickety house that could use a lot of work to fix it up. His parents both worked at busy jobs to make sure he had the important stuff: a roof over his head, food on the table, clothes, an education. They splurged on things here and there, giving him presents when they saw something he really liked and really wanted. But expenses like repainting the house so it didn't look like the wood itself was peeling away tended to get overlooked. Vlad didn't mind it so much. It was the home he knew since birth, but his classmates, the other children in the neighborhood, liked to tease him about it.

"And then," Vlad said in a spooky voice, shining a flashlight under his chin as he sat in the fort of pillows and bed sheets that he and Jack built during the day, "they heard it. A soft scratching at the door." He dragged his fingers over the floorboards to make the described sound, and Jack leaned forward, eyes wide with interest at the tale being told. "She told him not to open the door. The rumors of the hooked handed man echoing in her ears. But he didn't listen. He reached for the door, slowly turning the doorknob with an eerie squeal. The door opened inch by inch, and they held their breath. The scratching sound was louder now." He scrapped his nails even rougher against the floor, trying to make the noise louder.

"Then what?" Jack asked in a hushed voice, eager to hear the end of the tale.

Vlad grinned, and it look creepy with the light casting shadows across his face. "Nothing was on the other side of the door. The boy laughed as he stepped onto the porch, turning about on his feet to point and laugh at his scared sister. He barely got a sound out before in great swoop," he swung an arm across his body with a whoosh of noise, "his head was lopped right off his body. The girl screamed in fright as his head bounced and rolled until it bumped right against her feet. His face turned up to her with fear still in his eyes and his mouth agape in a silent scream. The hooked handed man had claim another victim, but his vengeance remained insatiable. He continues to wander the world, taking the lives of naughty children."

Vlad nearly laughed at the sight of Jack's face, blue eyes remaining wide. The larger boy looked frozen in place with his chest barely moving with his shallow breaths, almost like he wasn't breathing at all. Jack's eyes slowly lifted upward, a hint of fear creeping into them as he raised a hand with a finger pointing shakily behind his friend.

Vlad gulped as he slowly turned around where he sat. A white form loomed over him with a hook like appendage raised in the air. Vlad's mouth dropped open, but no sound would leave him. His body was glued to the spot on the floor, every muscle growing tense. The creature swooped down on him, seizing him around the waist. A shriek of laughter escaped him as the fingers danced over his sides, finding all his ticklish spots.

"No! Help me, Jack! The evil ghost mom has me!" Vlad struggled in the arms of his mother as the white sheet she wore slipped off to reveal her grinning face as she tormented her son by tickling him.

"You naughty little boy," she said, laughing along with him. "Making a mess like this." When she finally released him, she glanced over to Jack, who had relaxed from his earlier fright. "You boys were supposed to help with knitting those scarves for the women at my work." She drew herself up to her full height upon her knees, pressing fists to her hips as she glared down at them. But there was no real heat in her dark blue eyes. Instead, she looked rather amused by the two boys.

Vlad felt a flush of color rise to his face as he glanced at Jack. He spent plenty of time knitting with his mother, but he knew that would only be another source of teasing if it ever got out around the neighborhood. He already came off as a fairly nerdy sissy boy without adding knitting on top of it all.

"Sounds like fun, Mrs. M!" Jack said cheerily before his brow scrunched up. "It's not difficult though, is it?"

His mother laughed as she stood. "I'll make you a master knitter in no time." She headed for the door of the room, and the two boys followed after her. "And when we're done, I'll let you both have some of the cake my co-worker gave me." That gained excited cheers from both boys.

* * *

**Pebblepaw**: Poor lonely Vlad. =( Such a shame they didn't get to become friends again.

**Deborahpflover**: Thanks! X3 I was having Jack and Vlad feels and wanted to write something short and cute between them. =)

**Spongebob Swagpants**: If only they had stayed that way~


End file.
